Page 55 of Covenant

I let him step away from me, turning us both so we can make our way to the patio. And as we go, I can hear a faint whistling from the other side of the room. When I turn to look, I see Harley there, his thumbs up in congratulations.

Hell.

I shouldn’t have fallen for it.

But I did. I kissed him, heard his moans, felt his hard length against me.

There’s no going back now.

I’m in it.

* * *

I shiver on the large patio, small lanterns lighting up the darkness enshrouding us. I can’t look at him. I kissed those lips and I can’t erase the feeling. Matthias must be so fucking smug. This is what he wanted.

But I like to feel like I won too. He can’t deny he wants me now.

Why is that important?

I push that thought away. I can’t think about it now.

No, this is his fault. He dared me and now there is video evidence that it happened.

Someone is going to see that.

Our lips fused together, our hands on one another.

I feel my cheeks heat and I press a cold hand to one of them, feeling the sting of my frigid skin. It grounds me.

“You won that one,” Matthias says, and I glower over my shoulder at him.

“I did,” I say, but I don’t feel better. Because I can still taste him on my lips, can still feel him against me. Like a radioactive shadow.

It’s going to destroy me in the end.

“But now you can’t look at me.”

I turn and meet his stare and hold it. “There. Happy now?”

He cocks his head, looking thoughtful before taking a step toward me and brushing a hand across my cheek. My eyelids flutter and I hear my shaky inhale.

Apparently, so does Matthias. “We can take all the time you want out here, but we do need to get back in there eventually.”

“To be seen with your adoring husband?”

“Mhm.”

His hand falls from my face and lands at his side.

“You did play the part so well,” he says darkly.

“I signed a contract.”

“That you did. Now you just need to make sure you don’t break.”

For a heartbeat, I think he means breaking the contract. But I replay the words in my mind. No. That’s not what he means.

He means me. He’s telling me not to break.

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